


Tepidarium

by kiebs



Series: Soumako Week 2015 [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Roman AU, Roman baths, Short & Sweet, SouMako Week, baths, drabble-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-26 02:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4986619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiebs/pseuds/kiebs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Makoto, relax," Sousuke drawled and Makoto wrinkled his nose at the teal gaze lazily blinking up at him.<br/>"I can't relax. We're not supposed to be here," he argued.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tepidarium

**Author's Note:**

> For day two of Soumako Week, AU/Crossover! I chose a Roman au because I am a total sucker for Roman aus.

"Are we allowed to do this?" Makoto's voice echoed in the tiled room, bouncing from mosaic to mosaic and permeating the air with his worry.

A snort followed his uncertainty, a sound of both amusement and incredibility. Then there was a splash and Makoto frowned at his fellow guard, trying not to watch those impressive shoulders sink underneath the water of the _tepidarium_. After all, he wanted to stay annoyed at him because they were supposed to be guarding the Grand Priestess. He did not want to ogle and appreciate the muscled expanse that was Sousuke's body.

Makoto crossed his arms, shifting his weight for a more displeased stance. He was still in his tunic, as the other guard had grabbed him before he could change into his armor, and he refused to remove it. They should be on duty. Aiichirou and Momotaro's shift should have ended at least an hour ago and yet here they were in the baths of all places. It made Makoto nervous and he sent up a small prayer to Ceres to forgive his transgressions.

"Makoto, relax," Sousuke drawled and Makoto wrinkled his nose at the teal gaze lazily blinking up at him.

"I can't relax. We're not supposed to be here," he argued, hoping he didn't sound as whiny as he thought he did. "We're supposed to be guarding the Grand Priestess."

"She won't mind," his fellow guard responded, facing forward and sinking lower into the water. His voice became thicker and lower. "I asked her to give us an extra day."

Makoto stopped fidgeting, his arms dropping to his sides. "You…You asked her for an extra day off?"

"I've been cooped up with you long enough to know you're a horrible liar and ridiculously by the book," Sousuke yawned, rolling his shoulders. "She pouted, but she allowed us an extra day."

"But Haru—."

"Nanase has to listen to her as much as we do. The Grand Priestess' word holds more power than anyone else's," the taller man snapped. He leaned his head back, but whether or not he could actually see Makoto from that position was uncertain. "Get in the damn bath."

Makoto pouted, but he would have to admit the _tepidarium_ was rather enticing. It was one of the larger pools, much larger than either the _calidarium_ or _frigidarium_ , neither of which he particularly liked. Sadly, those two baths were part of the whole bathing routine, at least usually, and he had developed some kind of resistance to them. He still didn't like them, but at least he could get through them with as few whimpers as possible. The _tepidarium_ , of course, would always be his favorite as it was always at the correct temperature. Neither too hot nor too cold, that beautiful balanced warmth that enveloped you.

Having that and his stupidly handsome partner? Someone had definitely blessed him.

Nevertheless, he was still reluctant to take off his tunic, shyly depositing it in one of the baskets lining the wall by the door. He stood there for a moment, collecting himself, even though he had to bathe with Sousuke before when the two of them first became the Grand Priestess' guards. Then, however, he had known nothing about Sousuke, hadn't had the time to develop this warm curling in his gut whenever they were alone together. Then, he didn't completely recognize just how attractive Sousuke's tanned and scarred flesh was. Now, though, he was well aware of just how attractive he was.

Makoto was going to make a fool of himself, he was sure of it, and yet he still crossed over to the bath and got in, sitting at least three feet away from his fellow guard. He didn't look at Sousuke to see if there was any response and instead sunk lower into the pool, relishing the feeling of the warm water caressing his everything. The feeling pulled an appreciative sigh from him. It was so nice, so much so that he actually dunked his head for a moment, letting bubbles escape his mouth like a child. As soon as the bubbles were spent, he rose, gasping slightly, before he pushed his wet fringe out of his face.

"All right. This is…refreshing," he admitted, just feeling the piercing gaze on the side of his face. He closed his eyes. "Thank you for this."

"And they say I overwork," Sousuke snorted, but Makoto could hear the smile in his voice. "Enjoy it, Mr. Career Guard. The Grand Priestess is going to double her efforts to annoy us tomorrow."

Makoto laughed. "It'll be worth it."

Sousuke chuckled lowly, which was a hypnotizing sound. The brunet guard smiled softly, enjoying it and the bath. And he might have reached out to brush his fingers against Sousuke's and if the other guard allowed their digits to intertwine, well, Makoto wasn't going to tell.

 

**Author's Note:**

> You could probably figure this out, but a tepidarium is a bath that as tepid or warm water, while a calidarium has really hot water and a frigidarium has cold water. Romans, at least wealthy Romans, would spend whole days at the bathhouse and these three baths were very important parts to the bathing process.


End file.
